Pathways to climate adapted and healthy low income housing

AbstractThis report presents the findings from the “Pathways to Climate Adapted and Healthy Low Income Housing” project undertaken by the CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship in partnership with two organisations responsible for providing social housing in Australia.The project was based on the premise that interactions between people, housing, and neighbourhood are dynamic and best viewed as a complex, dynamic social-ecological system. Using social housing as a case study, the objectives of the project were to:Model vulnerability of housing and tenants to selected climate change impacts;Identify/evaluate engineering, behavioural and institutional adaptation options;Scope co-benefits of climate adaptation for human health and well-being; andDevelop house typologies and climate analogues for national generalisations.This project was developed with the rationale that a multi-level focus on the cross-scale interactions between housing, residents, neighbourhood, and regional climate was vital for understanding the nature of climate change vulnerability and options for adaptation. The climate change hazards that were explored were increasing temperatures and more frequent and severe heatwaves in the context of heat-related health risks to housing occupants, and changes in radiation, humidity, and wind, in relation to material durability and service life of housing components and the implications for maintenance.Please cite as:Barnett G, Beaty RM, Chen D, McFallan S, Meyers J, Nguyen M, Ren Z, Spinks A, and Wang, X 2013 Pathways to climate adapted and healthy low income housing, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 110.This report presents the findings from the \u27Pathways to Climate Adapted and Healthy Low Income Housing\u27 project undertaken by the CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship in partnership with two organisations responsible for providing social housing in Australia.The project was based on the premise that interactions between people, housing, and neighbourhood are dynamic and best viewed as a complex, dynamic social-ecological system. Using social housing as a case study, the objectives of the project were to:Model vulnerability of housing and tenants to selected climate change impacts;Identify/evaluate engineering, behavioural and institutional adaptation options;Scope co-benefits of climate adaptation for human health and well-being; andDevelop house typologies and climate analogues for national generalisations.This project was developed with the rationale that a multi-level focus on the cross-scale interactions between housing, residents, neighbourhood, and regional climate was vital for understanding the nature of climate change vulnerability and options for adaptation. The climate change hazards that were explored were increasing temperatures and more frequent and severe heatwaves in the context of heat-related health risks to housing occupants, and changes in radiation, humidity, and wind, in relation to material durability and service life of housing components and the implications for maintenance

Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

This Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) has been jointly coordinated by Working Groups I (WGI) and II (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report focuses on the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events, the impacts of such events, and the strategies to manage the associated risks. The IPCC was jointly established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in particular to assess in a comprehensive, objective, and transparent manner all the relevant scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information to contribute in understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, the potential impacts, and the adaptation and mitigation options. Beginning in 1990, the IPCC has produced a series of Assessment Reports, Special Reports, Technical Papers, methodologies, and other key documents which have since become the standard references for policymakers and scientists.This Special Report, in particular, contributes to frame the challenge of dealing with extreme weather and climate events as an issue in decisionmaking under uncertainty, analyzing response in the context of risk management. The report consists of nine chapters, covering risk management; observed and projected changes in extreme weather and climate events; exposure and vulnerability to as well as losses resulting from such events; adaptation options from the local to the international scale; the role of sustainable development in modulating risks; and insights from specific case studies

Climate Change and the Future Impacts of Storm-Surge Disasters in Developing Countries

As the climate changes during the 21st century, larger cyclonic storm surges and growing populations may collide in disasters of unprecedented size. As conditions worsen, variations in coastal morphology will magnify the effects in some areas, while largely insulating others. In this paper, we explore the implications for 84 developing countries and 577 of their cyclone-vulnerable coastal cities with populations greater than 100,000. Combining the most recent scientific and demographic information, we estimate the future impact of climate change on storm surges that will strike coastal populations, economies and ecosystems. We focus on the distribution of heightened impacts, because we believe that greater knowledge of their probable variation will be useful for local and national planners, as well as international donors. Our results suggest gross inequality in the heightened impact of future disasters, with the most severe effects limited to a small number of countries and a small cluster of large cities.climate change; developing countries; disasters; coastal cities; storm surges; coastal populations; economic activity

The critical decade: extreme weather

When extreme weather events occur the Climate Commission is consistently asked questions about the link to climate change. This report unpacks our current knowledge about different types of extreme weather events: extreme temperatures, rainfall, drought, bushfires, storm surges, cyclones and storms.   Download key facts from the report. Download summary table of the report. Download quick facts for each state: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Australian Captial Territiory, Northern Territiory.   1. Climate change is already increasing the intensity and frequency of many extreme weather events, adversely affecting Australians. Extreme events occur naturally and weather records are broken from time to time. However, climate change is influencing these events and record-breaking weather is becoming more common around the world. Some Australian examples include: Heat: Extreme heat is increasing across Australia. There will still be record cold events, but hot records are now happening three times more often than cold records. Bushfire weather: Extreme fire weather has increased in many parts of Australia, including southern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and parts of South Australia, over the last 30 years. Rainfall: Heavy rainfall has increased globally. Over the last three years Australia’s east coast has experienced several very heavy rainfall events, fuelled by record-high surface water temperatures in the adjacent seas. Drought: A long-term drying trend is affecting the southwest corner of Western Australia, which has experienced a 15% drop in rainfall since the mid-1970s. Sea-level rise: Sea level has already risen 20 cm. This means that storm surges ride on sea levels that are higher than they were a century ago, increasing the risk of flooding along Australia’s socially, economically and environmentally important coastlines. 2. Climate change is making many extreme events worse in terms of their impacts on people, property, communities and the environment. This highlights the need to take rapid, effective action on climate change.  It is crucial that communities, emergency services, health and medical services and other authorities prepare for the increases that are already occurring in the severity and frequency of many types of extreme weather. The southeast of Australia, including many of our largest population centres, stands out as being at increased risk from many extreme weather events – heatwaves, bushfires, heavy rainfall and sea-level rise. Key food-growing regions across the southeast and the southwest are likely to experience more drought in the future. Some of Australia’s iconic ecosystems are threatened by climate change. Over the past three decades the Great Barrier Reef has suffered repeated bleaching events from underwater heatwaves. The freshwater wetlands of Kakadu National Park are at risk from saltwater intrusion due to rising sea level. 3. The climate system has shifted, and is continuing to shift, changing the conditions for all weather, including extreme weather events.  Levels of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels have increased by around 40% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, causing the Earth’s surface to warm significantly. All weather events are now occurring in global climate system that is warmer and moister than it was 50 years ago. This has loaded the dice towards more frequent and more severe extreme weather events. 4. There is a high risk that extreme weather events like heatwaves, heavy rainfall, bushfires and cyclones will become even more intense in Australia over the coming decades.  There is little doubt that over the next few decades changes in these extreme events will increase the risks of adverse consequences to human health, agriculture, infrastructure and the environment. Stabilising the climate is like turning around a battleship – it cannot be done immediately given its momentum. When danger is ahead you must start turning the wheel now. Any delay means that it is more and more difficult to avert the future danger. The climate system has strong momentum for further warming over the next few decades because of the greenhouse gases that have already been emitted, and those that will be emitted in future. This means that it is highly likely that extreme weather events will become even more severe in Australia over that period. 5. Only strong preventive action now and in the coming years can stabilise the climate and halt the trend of increasing extreme weather for our children and grandchildren.  Averting danger requires strong preventative action. How quickly and deeply we reduce greenhouse gas emissions will greatly influence the severity of extreme events in the future. The world is already moving to tackle climate change.  Ninety countries, representing 90% of global emissions, are committed to reducing their emissions and have programs in place to achieve this. As the 15th largest emitter in the world, Australia has an important role to play. Much more substantial action will be required if we are to stabilise the climate by the second half of the century. Globally emissions must be cut rapidly and deeply to nearly zero by 2050, with Australia playing its part. The decisions we make this decade will largely determine the severity of climate change and its influence on extreme events that our grandchildren will experience. This is the critical decade to get on with the job

The impact of heat on mortality and morbidity in the Greater Metropolitan Sydney Region: A case crossover analysis

Background: This study examined the association between unusually high temperature and daily mortality (1997-2007) and hospital admissions (1997-2010) in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR) to assist in the development of targeted health program

Buyer beware: home insurance, extreme weather and climate change

As climate change is mixing with natural variability to increase the risk of damage to Australian homes, this paper provides a snapshot of how the home insurance industry is responding to climate risk. Overview In many parts of the country, climate change is mixing with natural variability to pile on the risk of damage to Australian homes. Where Australians live, the design of settlements, the cost of housing, and whether homes are insurable or not are not issues of the future, but very much issues of today. The Climate Institute, together with CHOICE, commissioned independent risk analysts Climate Risk to take a snapshot of how the home insurance industry is responding to climate risk. The study, Buyer Beware: Home Insurance, Extreme Weather and Climate Change, offers a preliminary analysis of changes in premiums, policies, and insurability. The research reveals the growing risks for homeowners and also offers important new tools to assist homebuyers to assess current and future risk to what is often the biggest asset purchase of their lives

Climate change and transport infrastructures: State of the art

Transport infrastructures are lifelines: They provide transportation of people and goods, in ordinary and emergency conditions, thus they should be resilient to increasing natural disasters and hazards. This work presents several technologies adopted around the world to adapt and defend transport infrastructures against effects of climate change. Three main climate change challenges have been examined: Air temperatures variability and extremization, water bombs, and sea level rise. For each type of the examined phenomena the paper presents engineered, and architectural solutions adopted to prevent disasters and protect citizens. In all cases, the countermeasures require deeper prediction of weather and climate conditions during the service life of the infrastructure. The experience gained supports the fact that strategies adopted or designed to contrast the effects of climate change on transport infrastructures pursue three main goals: To prevent the damages, protect the structures, and monitor and communicate to users the current conditions. Indeed, the analyses show that the ongoing climate change will increase its impact on transport infrastructures, exposing people to unacceptable risks. Therefore, prevention and protection measures shall be adopted more frequently in the interest of collective safety